Step 53 - Interview and Book your Makeup Artist

(4 Months to 6 Months before the Wedding)
You have got your wedding dress, all your wedding accessories, your hairdo and how it will be styled all figured out, and now to the final piece to make you a beautiful bride and that is the makeup and that means finding a fabulous makeup artist. You have three options for your wedding day makeup, do you hire a makeup artist, you apply your wedding day makeup yourself, or do you have a family member or friend apply the makeup.

Your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life, you will be the center of attention all day long from the moment you start walking up the aisle, when you are stating your wedding vows, getting photographs and videos taken of you all day long, greeting every guest in the receiving line, having many guests walking up and personally congratulating you, all tables will be focused on you at the reception, then there's the first dance, father and bride dance, and the throwing of the bouquet and not to mention the first private moments as husband and wife. You have got to look your best, the makeup job has got to make you look fabulous.

A professional makeup artist has had lots of training, understands what looks best with each person's facial features and skin tones and knows how to apply all the cosmetics to bring about your inner beauty. They also take into consideration, the design of your wedding dress and style of your hair and consider factors such as lighting and weather to give you a polished look on your special day.

As you begin your search for a makeup artist, look in wedding related websites, Bride and Glamor Magazines, Yellowpages, ask around at your hair salons, and for select cities, some makeup artists show elsewhere in this blog. Many makeup artists work double duty as a makeup artist, they may work as a hair stylist and work on the side doing makeup. They may work as an accountant, nurse, school bus driver, and work as a makeup artist on the side. They may know cosmetics some and do a pretty good job, but aren't experts, don't have the training to do makeup for a wedding day beauty.

Before you interview and meet up with a makeup artist, you should show the makeup artist, photos of makeup jobs that caught your attention and provide her/him a picture of the wedding dress, and the hairstyle you plan to wear on your wedding day. You also want to find a lot about the makeup artist. You want a makeup artist that has received a lot of training and has deep knowledge of makeup and knows what cosmetics work best with different facial features and skin tone. You also want to see pictures before and after visuals of makeup jobs on other brides they have performed themselves, before deciding to book with them.

A great makeup artist is hard to find. So many makeup artists work the profession part time, they just don't have the training and knowledge of what makeup should be applied to specific facial features and many lack the communication skills and miss creating the look the bride really wants. They have their own makeup application procedure style and applies makeup practically in the same manner to every lady he/she meets.

After you find yourself a good makeup artist, you need to discuss your wedding day makeup. Is your makeup artist going to do it, are you doing it yourself, or is somebody other going to apply your makeup? You need to work a game plan and you want to make a number of appointments. Your sessions with the makeup artists you want to have two goals. Learn your wedding day makeover and learn about applying everyday makeup that you will continue for the rest of your life. You want to learn about all the makeup tools and how to apply makeup properly.


Hopefully, your next steps involve experimentation and learning all about makeup along with the tools and techniques and discussing what applications you like and what looks good on you. Techniques you should apply with everyday makeup and what your wedding day application should be and gain your acceptance.

Finally after you have completed all the makeup steps, you want to replicate the process. You want the makeup artist to provide a written record of both processes including what products that should be used and how to apply the product. If possible you want to take a photo and video of each step and if a family member or friend is going to prepare your wedding day makeup, they should try to attend the replication session too. Whoever applies your wedding day makeup should have a couple of practice sessions applying makeup on you a few times before the big wedding day.

Purchase all the products long before your wedding day so you are sure to get your hands on everything you need. Look for places you can get makeup products at the best price, can you get what you want at local stores or can you order the product at the internet. Talk to your makeup artists about where you can find the product. You may find, your makeup artist also sells the product but you may be able to get it cheaper elsewhere. Good places to find makeup products are in department stores, beauty supply stores, beauty salons, drugstores, bath and body stores, and many online websites. You should also pick up a good sized cosmetics bag to hold cosmetics with each step of your makeup process and remember to include a mirror in your bag.

If the makeup artist is to do your wedding day makeup, book with her/him as soon as possible, you don't want to find your makeup artist booked with somebody else before you and can't do your wedding day. The best makeup artists get booked very early, so it's better to be safe and book them early.


Some Steps Makeup Artists Might Recommend:

1. Remove Previous Makeup - Apply Cold Cream - Light Upward Strokes - Use a Clean Cotton Ball
2. Cleanse the Skin - Apply a Mattafier or Oil Control Cotton - Dab a Pea-sized Amount of Gel - Press Using Fingertips
3. Concealer - Used to Lesson Shadows Under the Eye - Conceal Imperfections in the Skin - Apply with Brush and Dab with Index Finger
4. Foundation - Used to Even Out Skin Tone and Color Blemishes - Apply with Sponge or Foundation Brush
5. Contouring or Shading - Used to Minimize Excess Features - Accentuate Small Features - Fan Brush with Taupe or Brown Tone Shadow or Powder
6. Cheek Color or Brush - Defines Cheekbones - Use a Cheek or Lip Stain -Dab on Sparingly with Fingertips - Use Color of Choice with Bone Blush Brush
7. Powder - Blend Makeup - Reduce Shine - Use Dome Powder Brush for Sheerer Coverage - Pat on with Puffs for heavier Coverage
8. Highlighter - Pull Features Out - Give the Face a Glow - Apply Neutral Powder - Shirt Sketchy Lines with Highlighter Pencil
9. Eyebrows - Picture Frames for Eyes - Use a Powder Brow Shadow - Use a Brow Brush with Short Sweeping Lines
10. Eye Color or Eye Shadow - Used to Frame or Accent the Eyelid - Contrast Colors Make the Eye Color Pop - Use a Dome Creased Brush
11. Eyeliner - Defines Shape and Sizes of the Eye - Pencils or Angle Brush with Eye Shadow
12. Mascara - Adds Color, Length, and Emphasizes the Eyelashes - Curl with an Eyelash Curler - Pull the Wand Up and Through Lashes, Wiggle as You Go - Use Mascara Wand
13. Lip Color - To Redefine Shape of the Lips - Use Lipstick or Lip Pencil
14. Barrier Spray and Lip Sealer - Preserves the Makeup Application - Lipstick Looks Freshly Applied up to 8 Hours
15. Primer - Smooths and Protects Surface of the Skin - Choose Clear/Tinted Matched to Skin Color - Helps Camouflage Skin Blemishes - Apply with Sponge

A lot of makeup application techniques can be found on "Youtube" videos available on the internet, learn not only the cosmetics used but learn visually how to apply the products on the face.

Some Good Online Makeup Companies Include:

www.buymebeauty.com
www.clinique.com
www.eyeslipface.com
www.freecosmeticwebsites.com
www.makeup-mall.com
www.sephora.com
www.smashbox.com
www.strawberrynet.com
www.ulta.com
www.yabycosmetics.com

Be the beautiful bride, learn how to apply your wedding day makeup and remember to interview and book your wedding day makeup artist early or have them show a family member or friend how to apply your wedding day makeup. See you on the other side!